Insect-excluding attachment for buildings.



D. A. CLARK.

INSECT EXCLUDING ATTACHMENT FOR BUILDINGS. APPLICATION FILED JAN.17,1912.

1,080,41 7. Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

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flan MA 65 a via 1 D. A. CLARK.

INSECT EXCLUDING ATTACHMENT FOR BUILDINGS.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 17, 1912.

1 ,080/1-1'7. Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

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DAVID A. CLARK, 0F CAPAY, CALIFORNIA.

INSECT-EXCLUDING ATTACHMENT FOR BUILDINGS.

Application filed January 17, 1912.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 191 3.

Serial No. 671.557.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, DAVID A. CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Gapay, in the county of Yolo and State of California, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Insect-Excluding Attachments forBuildings, of which the following is a specification.

An object of the invention is to provide an attachment for buildings forpreventing insects, such as flies and the like from on tering thebuilding.

My invention embodies astructure, similar to the usual vestibule of abuilding and the mentioned structure is adapted to be attached adjacentthe entrance to the building so that all persons desiring to enter thebuilding or leave the same will pass through the mentioned structure,which is constructed to prevent flies from entering the building when aperson enters the same or entering the building when a person is leavingthe same.

For the purpose mentioned, use is made of a housing provided with adarkened chamber and a ventilating chamber, the mentioned chambers beingadjacently connected by a door and the mentioned darkened chamber beingprovided with an entrance with insect receiving compartments providedwithin the housing and adapted to receive insects which attempt to enterthe housing through suitable ventilating apertures, the mentioned flyreceiving compartments being provided with removable covers and thementioned housing being provided with trap doors for effectually closingthe insect receiving compartments.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings constituting a partof this specification, in which similar characters of reference denotecorresponding parts .in all the views, and in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of my device, showing the same applied to a build ing.Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken immediately beneath the roofof the housing and showing the interior arrangement thereof. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of one of the insect receiving compartments, partsbeing broken away to disclose the underlying structure, and Fig. 41 is avertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4: in Fig. 3, the cover ofthe insect receiving compartment being in open position.

liteferring to the views and more particnlarly to Figs. 1 and 2 Iprovide a rectangular housing 10 for engagement with a dwell- 1ng 11, adacent the main entrance 12 of the dwelling, the mentioned housing beingpositioned to cover the entrance, which is nor- .mally closed by a door13 as shown in Fig. 2. The housing 10 is provided with a partition 141-,forming a darkened chamber 15 and a ventilating chamber 16, a swingingdoor 17 being mounted on the partition 1 1 to normally close an openingtherein, thus affording a means of access from one of the rooms 1.5, 16to the other. At the front end of the housing 10 a door 18 is mounted topermit a person entering the darkened chamber 15 from the street orsidewalk and the walls of the chamber 15 are preferably painted black ordarkened in some suitable manner for a purpose that will be hereinaftermore fully disclosed.

The ventilating chamber 16 with a plurality of openings 19, covered withscreens 20 and extending transversely to the openings 19 near the upperends thereof are guide beams 21 adapted to support insect receivingcompartments 22, preferably constructed of screen wire and ar ranged inthe ventilating chamber 16 to repose on the guides 21 and engage funnels23 extending through the screens 20 to form openings 24, the inner endsof the funnels 23 terminating within the compartments 22.

As mentioned heretofore the compartments 22 are preferably(t()l'lSi1llCiO(l of screen wire and have extended through the frontsides thereof funnels 25 which are adapted to receive the funnels 23secured to the screens 20, thus permitting the insects which crawl upthe outer sides of the screens 20 to enter the com mrtments 22 throughthe openings 24-. .llingedly mounted on the rear ends of thecompartments 22 are closures 26, normally retained in closed posi tionby hooks 27 mounted on the compartments 22 and having their outer endsextended through eyelets 28 secured to the closures 26.

livotally mounted on the housing 10, exteriorly thereof and over theopenings 19, are trap doors 29 having cords 30 connected thereto, thesaid cords being passed over pulleys 31 and extending within theventilating chamber 16 for connection with suitable cleats or the likefor retaining the trap doors 29 in raised position, the mentioned isprovided trap doors being mounted to close the openings 24 when the sameare permitted to depend from the housing 10 as will be readilyunderstood.

In the use of my device, when a person desires to enter the dwelling 11he passes through the opening 18 into the darkened chamber 15 and asinsects, such as flies and the like do not enter darkened chambers orrooms, when the person passes through the door 18 the flies 0r insectsexterior of the housing will not enter through the door, which ispreferably connected with a spring adapted to normally retain the doorin closed position. The person now opens the door 17 and enters theventilating chamber 16, from which he proceeds to open the door 13 andenter the dwelling 11. Thus it will be seen that any flies or otherinsects on the outside of the housing cannot enter the Ventilatingchamber 16 or the dwelling 11 when a person enters the dwelling in themanner described heretofore in view of the fact that the mentionedinsects or flies normally will not enter the darkened chamber 15 whenthe door is opened.

By providing the openings 19, covered with the screens 20, a largeamount of light is admitted in the ventilating room 16 thus alsoilluminating the entrance to the dwelling 11. Any flies or otherinsects, which settle or crawl up the screens 20 will pass through theopenings 24: and into the compartments 22, it being understood that theinner ends of the funnels 25 are smaller than the outer ends thereof toprevent the flies which enter the compartments 22 from find ing theirway out of the compartments through the openings in the inner ends ofthe funnels 25. The compartments 22 are removably positioned on theguides 21 and can be removed therefrom for the purpose of opening thecompartments 22 by removing the covers 26 to remove the captured fliesor insects from the compartments. Before this is accomplished, however,the cords 30 are released from the cleats or securing hooks in theventilating chamber 15 and the trap doc-rs 29 are permitted to swingdownwardly and close the openings 24, thus preventing any flies orinsects from entering the chamber through the openings 24; after thecompartments 22 have been removed from engagement with the guides 21 forthe purpose of removing the captured insects trom the compartments.

' My device is preferably constructed and arranged similarly to thevestibules usually connected to dwellings in winter and from theforegoing description it will be readily seen that insects will beeffectually prevented from entering the dwelling through the opening 12,normally closed by the door 13 and surrounded by the housing 10.

Although for the purpose of describing my insect excluding attachment, Ihave shown a particular construction thereof, it will be understood thatI do not limit myself thereto nor to the particular description embodiedherein, the scope of the invention being defined in the appended claim.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new is In adevice of the class described, the combination with a housing forattachment to a dwelling, of a darkened chamber and a fly screenedventilating chamber in the housing and separated by a partitionsupported therein, an entrance door for the said darkened chamber, and adoor on the partition for connecting the darkened chamber with the saidfly screened ventilating chamber.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID A. CLARK. l/Vitnesses T. CRAIG, R. O. ARMSTRONG, Sr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

